Protein: What it Is, and Why You Need to Eat It

You may know what foods contain protein, but have you ever wondered what protein actually is – and why you need to eat it every day?

Protein is, of course, a vital component of a healthy diet. Most of us have known this since we were kids – probably from being told that protein would make us “big and strong”. And, while there’s some debate as to who actually created the word “protein” (it first appeared in the scientific literature in 1838), there’s no disagreement that it was derived from the Greek word “protos” – meaning “first rank or position” – in recognition of how important protein is to life.

What Are Proteins Made Of?

The proteins you eat (and the proteins in your body) are all made up of small units, called amino acids. You often hear amino acids described as “building blocks” because these small individual units are assembled in various ways to build proteins.

It may help to think of amino acids in the same way as letters of the alphabet. In English, we use just 26 letters to make up all of the words that we write and speak. Some words are short, some are long – but we create millions of words from just 26 letters. And, the final sequence of the letters is what gives each word its sound, and its meaning.

Similarly, there are 20 amino acids that can be strung together to make proteins – the ones you eat, and the ones that are made by your body. And just as we don’t use all 26 letters to make every word, most proteins don’t contain all 20 amino acids, either.

But – just as letters are strung together to make words – amino acids can be strung together in different sequences and in different lengths (from just a few amino acids to several thousand) to make different proteins. And, the sequence of amino acids gives each protein its “meaning” – because the final structure of the amino acid chain determines specifically what that protein is, and what it does.

The Proteins You Eat Maybe you never thought about it, but not all food proteins are the same. The sequence of amino acids that creates the white of an egg is much different from the arrangement of amino acids that creates the protein in a glass of milk.

When you eat foods that provide protein, then, it should make sense that different foods contain different proteins (and usually more than one) – even though they’re all made up of amino acids.

For example, when you eat milk or yogurt, you’re eating proteins called casein and whey. When you eat meat or fish or poultry, you would be eating – among others – proteins called collagen and myosin. Beans have proteins called legumins, and eggs contain a number of different proteins, including one called avidin and one called ovalbumin.

Each of these proteins is unique because each is made up of a unique sequence of amino acids. And once the proteins are digested and absorbed, their amino acids can then be used as building blocks for the proteins within your body.

The Proteins Your Body Makes

As protein foods travel through the digestive tract, they’re ultimately broken back down into their individual amino acids, which are absorbed into the bloodstream. Your body can then use these building blocks to manufacture some 50,000 different body proteins – each of which has a specific structure (and function) based upon its arrangement of amino acids.

As long as your body has all the necessary “raw materials” in the form of the amino acid building blocks, it can manufacture these important body proteins – from the enzymes that speed up chemical reactions in the body, to hormones that act as chemical messengers. (Other proteins support your immune function, or transport nutrients in your body – and of course, you have proteins that provide structure to your bones, skin, hair, nails and muscle, too).

Once the amino acids enter your bloodstream, there’s no way to tell whether they were derived from a bowl of lentils or a steak; they all end up as an amino acid “pool” in your body’s tissues and fluids – a pool that can be tapped into as needed. To ensure a steady supply, though, it’s important to consume adequate protein every day.

You Need Protein Daily

Eating the right amount – and the right types – of protein every day is important for a couple of reasons. For one thing, if you consistently had a shortage of protein in your diet, your body would have no choice but to start breaking down proteins within your body to provide the amino acids needed to produce the most vital body proteins.

While this process of building up and breaking down happens in your body all the time, the system only works as long as there are adequate amino acids coming from the diet to keep the two processes in balance.

Complete and Incomplete Proteins

The types of protein you eat matter, too. Of the 20 amino acids that your body uses to manufacture body proteins, nine of them are called “essential” – they have to come from your diet because your body cannot make them (although it can manufacture the remaining 11 amino acids).

Proteins that come from animal sources – meats, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and milk products – contain all of the essential amino acids, so they’re referred to as “complete” proteins.

Plant proteins are found in foods like beans, lentils, nuts and whole grains and – with the exception of soybeans (and protein foods derived from soy such as tofu, tempeh, soy milk or soy protein powders) – plant proteins are lacking one or more essential amino acids, so they’re considered “incomplete”. Strict vegetarians work around this by consuming a wide variety of foods to ensure that they get their full complement of essential amino acids in their diet.

US/Puerto Rico Earnings and Total Volume Acknowledgement

On May 1st 2017, there will be significant changes in the U.S. & Puerto Rico (PR).

These changes will affect you if you place an order in the United States or PR and are relying on the volume for your qualification to earn, worldwide earnings, discount advancement, Sales & Marketing Plan levels, promotions, etc.

What is the change?

Effective May 1st 2017, if you plan to rely on U.S./PR volume for your qualification to earn or for any other qualification, you must ensure that the U.S./PR volume is “Documented.”

What is Documented Volume (DV)?

DV includes profitable, receipted sales to customers in the U.S./PR, purchases by Preferred Members, and purchases in other countries by you and your downline Distributors.
Purchases in the U.S./PR for personal consumption and purchases for retail sale where a receipt was not generated will NOT count as Documented Volume.

Your downline Distributors’ purchases made outside the United States and Puerto Rico (if this is their normal purchasing habit).

If you are relying on this volume to qualify to earn on both your U.S./PR and Worldwide earnings, these new rules could potentially impact your qualification if your U.S./PR purchases are not documented. As a result, we have decided to place certain limits on the ability of International Distributors to place an order in the U.S. & Puerto Rico.

There are two major reasons for this change:

To support the U.S./PR requirement to attain 80% Primary Rewardable Volume. We must achieve this 80% threshold under the FTC Order in order to pay out 100% on the Sales and Marketing Plan. This is an absolute must.

To protect the income of International Distributors with U.S. business, whose earnings could be adversely impacted by U.S./PR product purchases without the proper receipts.

Effective April 28th 2017, International Distributors who do not have a U.S. or PR address on Herbalife’s records will only be able to place the following orders to support their customer sales:

Customer Direct orders with the creation of a receipt with this order*

*If the order is being shipped directly to your customer in the U.S. or Puerto Rico, you will be asked to provide the customer’s information and the price you charged the customer. The receipt will be generated and submitted automatically if you include the required information.

We will no longer accept personal consumption orders or retail inventory orders in the U.S. for any International Distributor; this includes orders when at events or when visiting the U.S. or Puerto Rico.

We thank you for your understanding and your support as we work together to ensure a successful implementation of the FTC order in the U.S./PR.

How do I submit receipts to Herbalife?

Place a customer direct order that is shipped to your U.S./PR customer (direct ship order). The receipt will be generated and submitted automatically if you include the required information.

What if I don’t live in the U.S./PR?

It doesn’t matter if you don’t live in the U.S./PR. What matters is where you or your downline are placing the orders. If you or your downline are placing orders in the U.S. or PR, these rules apply.

This may affect your qualification to earn (earning percentage) on both your U.S./PR and worldwide earnings.

Example:

If you have 2,300 VPs outside of the U.S./PR and 200 Volume Points within the U.S./PR, the 200 Volume Points will only count toward your 2,500 qualification to earn if it is documented

If the 200 Volume Points is not Documented Volume, the volume will NOT count toward your worldwide qualification to earn and you will only have 2,300 DV and only earn 4% Royalty Override and ZERO Production Bonus (if applicable)

This 4% Royalty Override percentage level of earnings and ZERO Production Bonus will also apply to your WW RO and PB